Inspiration behind the new look & Goodbye!

Finally launched  my new look website, although happy with the content and layout of the site, there are still some of  the banners and need to work with a designer to create a consistent flow of images that depict the sections correctly…and the coding of the intro page still pending:)). 

I have paid particular attention to this while developing design of the new look! I really wanted my main content to be the focus rather than the design of the page, especially the workshop were made to catch attention. I love the colors, the bright green and black make them stand out above the background. I haven't added much work to my art gallery lately as scaling images to fit a design in all browsers is a bit tricky, it took me so long to figure that out.

In my last design I had linked my blog post, for  those who are interested, my website history  tells a story of my dancing.  I've experimented with over the last 6 years ... Has it really been 6years? :)  Wow..time flies! I am saddened to announce that I have decided to stop making posts to my http://arabesquebellydance-annie.blogspot.com site. This does not mean that I will stop dancing and entertaining; it just means that I will stop using current blogspot.com. Thank you for the feedback! I have read every message sent to me, and I have thoroughly appreciated all the kind words and support. It feels good to know that I was able to make days better for so many people. Without support from you, I would not have kept my site going for so long.

So, that is it. But, for now, I say "GOODBYE".

Super Busy Super Calm....

I am still doing my very basic breath meditation. Breathing just happens naturally on day 20th,  I  will be completing  total of  21days journal  and I am bringing to a habit. I am really occupied with my day and night that I hardly find enough time to rest, moreover when it comes to posting updates with regards to the happenings to my life, for sure my life aren’t  exactly dull... not exactly very happening at the same moment but we spent a lot of time practice  (we are currently preparation to perform for  a company annual dinner event) on next week. I watched their practice video, it  made me smile because the girls work hard to practice in a short time. Gosh…. The girls . were   exhausted but still can dance and they just want to dance... and I have too much energy within me.. hahahaha.. Think they  are all HYPERACTIVE like me!!

I was a bit regretted to accept this  offer as the person in-charge  is too demanding! When I had a conversation with him, I know he  has been heavily influenced by non-traditional aspects. First, he personally like that kind of hot and sexy dance uses pop, hip locks and drops, some undulations. I understand it can be very good  entertaining and interesting but I don’t consider it is strictly belly dancing! I  personally do not like that type of dance, and I think its honestly fake,  over done or  trying to incorporate a kind of "sexy" feel too it. It just makes me mad to say that something that is so lacking of culture can be considered belly dance!  I am  insulted  because I can understand what is it call  belly dancing (That's what I've spent my life learning) I think that people should know the amazing thing about belly dance is something that culturally beautiful!  And it is logical that as a dancer you would take the experiences and techniques that you have seen and been through, and you would add that to your dance, I am just most obviously biased because I DO have that opportunity to see and learn many many Egyptian style belly dancing.  

I have also found that many people are defensive about belly dance history. I am proud to say I  learn their  cultures arts because it helps me better understand the culture in a manner which is far more natural for me. Aahh....Anyway, everyone has there own opinion.  As I said earlier,  I never meant to insult anyone with what I said,  if I did I apologize,  I am not going to spend time on this,

As I have mentioned in my previous post, there is quite a lot of happening stuff going on this first quarter  of the year. The Chinese New Year gathering already line up!!  Some of friends and students  start planning  my birthday celebrations this year. I am not greedy,  I do not want to have a big celebration, I just don’t want all of you  waste your money buying  things for me! Hmmm...I am getting my BlackBerry handphone in next two week. Well, unless something happen and there is big surprise from heaven, I want to hear a birthday wish that I haven’t  got it for years. There is really only one thing I want. And I can tell you now that it’s not gonna happen, but it’s the first thing I think of when I start dreaming of birthdayland.

Because of my dance commitments, I just paid the fees  today for Hadia in Jakarta Training from 16^th  to 20^th April 2011. Next thing is booking the flight and accommodation. April is full of excitement!  Lots of crazy people, cocktails and great parties. I cry...and  my pocket cries with me,  Woo hooo !!

 

Breathing Make Me Move....

Its Day 12th meditation challenge -  I've been pretty faithful to my commitment to sit. I actually look forward to a special time in each day to be just with myself – to go slowly, breath and smile. And now  I'm coming to a place of peace with it though and I will not give up entirely. I'm so glad this came at the right time for me.  The most important is calm during my super busy time,   take a 'Pause' and make a quick mental checklist of what I am grateful for. I felt  calm and have peace no matter what's going on around me….even when feel tired and grumpy...there is space for all of these feelings to be held at once. 

To be useful to others,  thought must result in action. There must be no laziness only constant activity in good work!  So, I am not lazy and I work extremely hard!  I'll have to pay closer attention in 2011. I still have other things on my mind, so far….January – April  is booked and packed with quite a number of travel. The troupe is busy with practice, rehearsal and performance on 28th  Jan 2011. I am also a bit struggle to launch my new website with the fabulous  Serkan Tutar and Mercedes.Neito workshops. My web designer still  working on some mass updates on the videos and etc. I'll let the video speak for themselves. Hadia workshop on 9th & 10th April registration filling up fast so do not wait!! This is a great opportunity for every potential belly dancer to learn from  her. Please feel free to call or email if you have any questions about registering or the workshop. I can be reached by email at annie_arbq@yahoo.com or  by phone at  012-4895395.

Oasis Night!! Unforgettable Hafla with Amazing Raks Star, Hadia  is fixed on 8^th April 2011 (Friday). Thanks to Emily who is supporting my workshop by organizing the hafla for everybody to perform. The hafla is for  ladies event, no male this time but if you are male dancer,  you are most welcome to join us!   I'll post  it and spread the goodwill once the poster is ready. Please let me know if you want to perform so we can put you on the list, number of places is limited. So you can "add" us on Facebook  to follow news, photos, discussions, etc even if you can't make it to this year's workshop.  And for the latest program schedule, I’m updating it at this link.  Thanks everyone. See you soon! 

Much Love and God Blessing!

What’s Up On January 2011

What I start in January?  As you know me, I was diving into too many things all at once, nearly going crazy at one point because my mind was processing too much information. I finally  set  an hour meditation firmly in my waking early goal. The best in the early morning hours..... I decided to give it a trial and see how it works out for 21 days.  If it was really beneficial, I would keep it as part of my daily routines.  If it wasn’t, I would have learned from the experience.

Think about it, wake up at 5am for meditation.  Frankly speaking,  waking up early at 5am is  the hardest habits to cultivate for me. Tell you, today is my 7^th day that I woke  up early and stay up. Of course the alarm clock is essential items  in the first few days.  With the cultivation of this one small habit, I am able to, no matter how sleepy I am.  I  really wake up early,  I have  a very strong reason on why  I  want to wake up,  I want to do it. I  get off my bed to reach it. Thanks goodness  I don’t go back to bed after I turn it off!  

My friend told me I must know the purpose “why” I need meditation. I  remembered our conversation about the mind and my curiosity of how to "control the mind".  He  influenced me in this way, Silence - Gain Inner Peace & Grounded Calmer, and this is how I actually practice it. In the first 3 days I did it for 45 minutes, I got up after that because of  sharp nummed/pain when I crossed my legs for too long. It seemed like torture to me, since the pain in the legs can get intense with 1 hour  of sitting with no movement. During that time, I also thought I was supposed to enter this world of knowing everything. But it was absolutely nothing. Not even peace!! . Actually my mind was racing like normal. The 45 minutes of sitting restlessly thinking what’s next on my yahoo inbox and who updated their status on Facebook, or who sent me a text message. Thinking about “what suppose to happen?”  Thinking about “Am I doing this right?" I ended up with headache, sweat and vomit on my 1^st day. I know my mind was expecting too much. I expected  much because I felt I was "suppose to be there to see something" and that I was going to have some magical and wonderful meditation experiences. However, as I continued to meditate the days after, once I started practicing 15 minutes, I  try and reconnect again, I started slowly breathing and suddenly jumped into a very deep meditation experience. I began to feel peace. I didn't ask for it. I didn't expect it. But, there it was! It made me realize how noisy my previous unmeditated mind was and I was not even aware of it.  

It became obvious I am clear within myself, my thoughts, my emotions, my inclinations, as well as a strong enough “why” I adopt these habits.  I felt motivated, sparks and  inspiration carry me through in this week when  I take notes and focus on what I am  doing at the moment.  It's a new adventure. It is a time of year for me when ideas are flowing. New ideas for business, choreography, shows and class.   New trends continue to pop up and there is a sense of newness all around - energy and passion for 2011 and beyond!!!  Let's see how it goes if I continue to achieve success for the 21 days meditation.

My New Day Start....

Thank you for a great 2010! Each and everyone of you made it special in a way and I'm happy and thankful. Wishing all of you A Happy New Year 2011!

Almost exhausted with year end parties/gathering. Time to awake! I want to Awaken! I have to change, I need to change, I must change and I will change! It's not been easy, but this something that I need and want… Feel the answer within me, know the answer within me, and honor and respect it. I remind myself the first person I have to love… is ME!  I am beautiful, I am  amazing, I am courageous. After reading The Sphere of Silence,  I told my friend  I’m getting to start my purpose of  practice the journal  with Sphere of Silence. My dear friend, please pray for me, I need your prayer that give me  strength to  get up in an early morning  to sit, meditate, write, focus and set  goals on my purpose.  

Mean time, I am also updating my new website and loving it!. I’ m pretty new to the world of technology and as such grateful when someone explains something computerise to me, as a lot of the time I feel like a real techno- dinosaur.  I am working diligently behind the scenes to prepare my Master Plan. It is my road map, how fast I travel it depend on me, it doesn’t mean I want to achieve faster, but I am willing to put time and effort to commit to learn, to enjoy!  UP to now, thank goodness for my to-do-list. My brain functions better by seeing what I have to do on a piece of paper. I’ve experimented with different kinds of to do lists. There’s the simple master list that holds everything. For the longest time I never kept to-do-lists. I used to practice  to  keep my goals and reach them inside my head. Sometimes this worked quite well; thoughts are things which are simple to rearrange and update as requirements change, after all. Other times, not so much. In short, I forgot things when I let everything circulate in my brain without writing it down. You know me, I'm still doing it... One of my other to do next is to create a list for all the activities.  I love lists and especially as I get older I need lists – to do list is being the most used one. I find this helps to organise my learning and presents a clearer picture for me to work with. and now is the time. 

Now, I am open my eyes to say, This is a new day, I will live a new way, I will be a new person, I am Awaken to a new existence! Here is a quick peak on my current projects page.